Rep. Nick Rahall (D-West Virginia), the chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, will convene a hearing on the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Carcieri v. Salazar.

"While the full ramifications of this decision are not yet known, it has the potential to throw a shroud over the sovereign nature of land held by untold numbers of Indian tribes, Rahall said in a statement. "In the near future, I will convene my committee to hold a hearing on this most pressing issue."

Tribal advocates believe Congress will "fix" the decision. The Indian Reorganization Act could be amended to ensure all tribes, regardless of the date of their recognition, benefit from the land-into-trust process.

The court's decision, if it stands, bars the Interior Department from acquiring land for tribe that weren't "under federal jurisdiction" in 1934.

Get the Story:
Congress set to review tribe land ruling (The Cape Cod Times 2/26)
Ruling could leave Mashpee tribe in debt (The Cape Cod Times 2/26)

Supreme Court Decision:
Syllabus | Opinion [Thomas] | Concurrence [Breyer] | Dissent [Stevens] | Concurrence/Dissent [Souter]

Supreme Court Documents:
Oral Argument Transcript | Briefs

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